Literature Laboratory 3
Economic and Social Class in Mid-twentieth-Century American Film
What is this lab about?
A remarkable number of films in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s were produced that focused on the class issues—both social and economic, and complicated this even further by also incorporating race and ethnicity into their portrayals. This lab asks that you examine a different kind of text, a film, from one of these decades, with an eye toward how it represents socio-economic issues. How are characters portrayed? How are class issues physically presented? Are there tensions apparent because of different socio-economic classes? How do these conflicts get resolved, if they do? Do racial or ethnic differences complicate the portrayal of economics and social class?
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Texts |
Discussion Starters |
Assignment |
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Step One: Watch the film in its entirely on Wednesday, April 13. There are some classrooms with a VCR available in Confer/Vickner, and the library also has facilities to watch films.
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What changes do you notice over time (from the 1940s to the 1960s, depending on the dates your films were produced) in how socio-economic class is portrayed?
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Your discoveries during this lab will be used in Essay 2. The first draft of the essay is due April 27; the final draft is due May 6. Additional details can be found in the Essay 2 assignment topics and guidelines.
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Step Two: After you have watched the film in its entirety, each group should select one 8 to 10 minute segment in the film that you think best represents that film’s portrayal of social and economic class. Cue the tape to this section—each group will share this brief portion of film with two other groups.
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What do you notice about how characters of different social and economic classes are portrayed?
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Essay 2 Assignment and Guidelines
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Step Three: On April 15, each group will briefly introduce their film, play the 8-10 minute segment. Play all the excerpts from the films first and then begin your discussion with the starter questions in the next column.
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Compare the portrayals of social and economic class in these films to literature published before the mid-twentieth century.
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FILMS
Citizen Kane (1941); Sullivan's Travels (1941); All the King's Men (1949); Sunset Boulevard (1950); On the Waterfront (1954) |